Working With Silk Sari Yarn - Sari Yarn Preparation And Projects

Sari yarn is a unique, brilliantly coloured yarn made from sari silk remnants in India. It comes in hanks (skeins) and pre-prepared balls and each one is unique, due to the ordering of colours, the uneven yarn thickness and the skill of the individual spinner.

Sometimes sari yarn is called “recycled sari yarn” but is not made from recycled saris, only new sari silk remnants. Sari yarn can also known as Himalayan yarn, Nepalese Yarn, Kathmandu yarn and Tibetan yarn. Cottage industries have developed around the production of sari yarn and these often support women who handspin the yarn for a living.

A simple crotcheted sari yarn scarf - looks pretty good with jeans!

You can buy sari yarn as a ball or a skein from online shops catering to crafters - these shops might specialise in preparing sari yarn for immediate use. Online craft shops also provide an ethical choice by supporting Fair Trade and good working conditions for the producers. For an alternative option, you can check out “sari yarn” on Ebay, which sometimes ships skeins direct from the warehouse.

Silk sari yarn is brilliantly coloured, thin and very flexible. This is the preferred yarn for knitting and crotchet projects.

Sari ribbon is also good for crotchet and knitting and is also flexible. It produces a more textured result.

Wire sari yarn does not bend easily and is no good for crotchet and knitting, unless bend is not required in the work - suitable for round floor rugs and circular work.

Types Of Sari Yarn

I’ve encountered three main types of sari yarn. Although these types come in different grades and qualities, there is no list of “standard” grades. Most traders create their own grades and you’ll see a lot of “best grade”, “quality grade” and “Grade A & B” sari yarn. The best way to find the right sari yarn for your project is to focus on the types listed below and find an acceptable grade suitable for your intended project.

Silk Sari YarnThis is a thin, brightly coloured recycled silk sari yarn that is the best all-purpose yarn for knitting and crotchet projects. Silk Sari Yarn bends easily and looks brilliantly coloured – it also works well when mixing yarns in a multicoloured project.

Sari RibbonSilks, cotton and rayon (with occasional metal threads) are hand sewn or tied at each end to create this colourful yarn that is perfect for crotchet and knitting. Sari Ribbon is perfect for adding additional texture to freeform projects.

Live Wire Sari YarnThis yarn is made from the recycled remnants left from sari production. It’s a thick yarn that doesn’t bend easily and is hard to knit and crotchet with, but you can make great woven rugs with it. Note: Live Wire Sari Yarn does not like to be unpicked and reused much as it tends to fall apart. However, it will be fine if only used once.

An unusual scarf, knitted in rounds, with dangly felted balls on the end.

Very simple project - cut lengths of sari yarn with other ribbons and yarns to create a simple yarn scarf with no sewing required.

Sari Yarn Preparation

Does your sari yarn smell? If it’s a strong mildewy smell, this can be because the sari yarn was produced and stored during a rainy season in India, creating some bacterial smell in the yarn. If you can smell an earthy, musky smell (like patchouli, but not as strong as the bacterial smell) this can be attributed to the natural smell of silk. Many shops sell sari yarn which doesn’t smell and comes at a higher price – because they’ve washed it. You can save a few $$$ and handwash sari yarn yourself at home.

Directions

1. Undo the hank so it is a loose loop of thread. This requires a lot of patience! If your sari yarn is tightly twisted, check out the handy video on the left for instructions on untwisting.

3. If the smell is strong and bacterial, skip Step 2 and soak the yarn for an hour in a bucket of cold water with a few drops of eucalypts oil (not recommended for sari ribbon as the eucalyptus will stain the ribbon colours).

4. Put the sari yarn into a pillowcase or bra bag and tie up the top. Wash in the washing machine on a cold setting. Add fabric softener if you’d like to soften the yarn.

5. Remove from bag and let yarn dry naturally.

6. Roll the sari yarn into a ball, ready for use.

Generally, for a higher price, you can get ready-to-use sari yarn which is prewashed, softened and rolled into a ball. I find you can save up to $20 per 100 grams if you do the washing, softening and rolling yourself. If your sari yarn smells like patchouli and doesn’t seem to be bacterial, you don’t even need to wash the yarn – you can use it straight after rolling it.

Make a Himalayan silk sari yarn hat like this one by crotcheting treble and double trebles to fit your head.

The back of the hat is floppy and shows off the sari yarn colours well.

The shape of the hat - it doesn't matter if you crotchet it wider at the top as long as you get it to fit your head at the base.

Silk Sari Yarn Projects & Ideas

I’ve had a lot of fun using silk sari yarn in many of my projects. When mixed with other yarns in crotcheted bags, you can get a nice hippie effect and the sari yarn strengthens the bag handle perfectly.

Silk sari yarn scarves can be crotcheted or knitted using any combination of stitches, but for maximum effect with the colours and also in preserving as much yarn as possible, try double and treble crotchet stitches, followed by a single row of crotchet when the work needs strengthening.

There’s a lot of stretch in crotcheted sari yarn items, so with the silk sari beanie I made, I just made it to the shape of my head in a sock/bag shape and it stretched after a few wears. The fringe on my beanie was made by using a grey yarn to match and following the pattern sc, sc, tr, tr, dtr, dtr, tr, tr and repeat around the edge.

I also like using silk sari yarn in projects without any crotcheting and knitting. For example, in a yarn scarf, where you cut lengths of mixed yarn, arrange them straight, wrap in paper and sew straight through the width on the sewing machine in a few places (or you can leave it unsewn).

A button necklace made of silk sari yarn was really easy as the yarn held the buttons in place much easier in preparation for knotting.

Comments

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AUTHOR

Suzanne Day

11 months agofrom Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Hi Amy, the best advice I can offer is as you work, to let the yarn hang occasionally, so it unknots itself. Working with it places tension on it and this can cause knotting. Just stop the project occasionally and dangle the yarn in the air and it will untwirl the tension.

Amy Henchey

11 months ago

I'm having a terrible time with my sari silk yarn getting all knotted and tangled. Any thoughts on (1) how to untangle most efficiently, and (2) how to keep this from happening in the first place?

Heather

17 months ago

I have knitted a scarf in sari silk yarn, but when it was finished I decided not to wear it, as it sheds so much. Does washing the yarn before you use it help to stop this?

AUTHOR

Suzanne Day

18 months agofrom Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Hi Sunita, you can find the yarn in a Google search, on Ebay and on Etsy. Just type in "sari yarn" or even "sari ribbon" and see what comes up! It can be a little hard to find, but it is out there. I think there are some online specialised shops selling it too...

Sunita Bali.

18 months ago

Hi Suzanne , I live in Delhi , where can I buy this yarn from , can you give me some leads , find it very interesting to crochet with this yarn ,

Thanks

Anonymous

19 months ago

this wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but good job anyway.

AUTHOR

Suzanne Day

2 years agofrom Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

There's no need to use a special paper, ordinary 80gsm paper worked for me. It all depends on how blunt you want your sewing machine needles to get! Yes, you need to cut the strands to the desired length (after sewing it).

Astridnova

2 years ago

I'm interested in the unusual idea of a scarf made with sari silk yarn without knitting or crocheting. When you sew across the paper, with the fibers lined up within it, are you able to tear the paper away? Do you recommend a special paper for this? Was paper, perhaps? And I take it that you must cut the strands to the length of the finished scarf?

Devika Primić

5 years agofrom Dubrovnik, Croatia

Beautiful colors and so creatively approached.

moonlake

5 years agofrom America

I love this yarn and think it is so pretty. The necklace sounds so nice. Voted up.

Susan

5 years agofrom India

Wow... They look so beautiful and colorful. Great share.

AUTHOR

Suzanne Day

5 years agofrom Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Thanks for the compliments everyone! Sari yarn is indeed, a beautiful yarn, if a little hard to work with sometimes. Crotchet is the best way to work with it, especially doing trebles and double trebles. Try it sometime, you'll find it a useful addition to your yarn collection and it really makes your projects outstanding, particularly with hats, bags, scarves and other projects.

RTalloni

5 years agofrom the short journey

Oh me, I'm guessing that these yarns are just beautiful! Thanks for the introduction and project ideas!

Pinning to my Yarn: Projects/… board.

SolveMyMaze

5 years ago

This is a really cool hub. I didn't know there was actually a silk classed as sari silk, let alone it having plenty of uses out with making a sari!

This could keep a lot of people extremely busy when they get their hands on this yarn.

Donna Herron

5 years agofrom USA

I love the way sari yarn looks but have yet to try knitting with it. Thanks for the project ideas!!

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